SAY PHOEBE. 
457. Sayornis sayus. 8 inches. 
The Phoebe is a bird that will select for its nesting place the 
heavy beam of some old bridge, or in some old mill where the 
timbers are falling down, and place its nest in some dark 
corner, building it of mud, moss and grasses lined with feath¬ 
ers, or in some localities the nests may be placed in the crevice 
of some cliff or ledge where they lay four or five white eggs, 
rarely dotted with brown. 
It is slightly larger than the eastern variety, with the under 
parts showing more of a brownish color, and is found breeding 
from the Arctic to Lower California. 
BLACK PHCEBE. 
458. Sayornis nigricans. 7 inches. 
Slightly smaller than the above, and much darker, almost 
black on the head and back with white under parts. Their hab¬ 
its are very much the same as above, frequenting old buildings 
in villages where a stream is near by, or in localities where in¬ 
sect life abounds. Their nest is made the same as above, and 
eggs are the same. 
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